Compensation θ ~ I might be late for reincarnation, but since I was born as the talented eldest son of a prestigious noble, I might be on the winning side.

TLN : I think I mistranslate the protagonist new name, リオン (Rion) is his name. It’s supposed to be Lyon, and that name really fit with the fantasy-like genre for this novel. So from now on our protagonist name is Lyon, sorry of the mistake.

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While focusing on recovering my health, I’ve been practicing basic magic control, and things are starting to look up.

My entire body is covered in a network of magical pathways like a spider’s web.

Within this network, I circulate magical energy smoothly, adjusting its flow, speed, and intensity. Manipulating the strength of magic is fundamental to magic control, so I often do experiment with it .

Once I can perform these operations as naturally as breathing, it should make spellcasting considerably easier.

But before that, it’s time to say goodbye to my bedridden days.

I’ve been practically bedridden, eating and vomiting for my whole life. My physical development has been severely stunted, and I haven’t grown as I should for my age. Although I felt better than before, my limbs are still thin and my complexion is extremely pale.

Actually, because I’m scared, I haven’t even looked at myself in the mirror yet.

I feel like I might resemble Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ right now. That profoundly unsettling painting was said to be inspired by a mummy.

Even looking through my eerie magical eyes, if I were to resemble that, it could potentially cause trauma.

Despite that, my food intake has been steadily increasing, and I’ve started light stretching and ab exercises on my king-sized canopy bed.

However, with the level of exercise I’m doing, I’m still far from defying gravity. Can I stand? That’s still uncertain. But I have to try it first. It’s okay to fail. I need to step out of this cradle-like bed and take my first step.

“Please, don’t assist me.”

I say this to those who are watching me with concern. If I don’t say it in advance, they might rush to assist me.

First, I sit on the edge of the bed, grabbing onto the crystal-like pillar. It’s smooth, so I hold onto it as if hugging it.

To ensure I didn’t slip, I slowly extend both legs down to the floor, where soft woolen fabric is spread.

With my small soft feet, I confirm the sensation of the floor. With this, even if I fall, it might not hurt.

“Here goes!”

To stand up, I exhale and exert force into my lower limbs. Muscles and joints that I haven’t really used until now suddenly experience a vertical load.

Shaking, trembling, it sounds like my lower limbs are vibrating intensely. I’m like a newborn fawn. If only these legs were stronger.

‘What’s the matter! Don’t blame your legs for not being able to stand!’

As I hesitantly clung to the pillar and took my first shaky steps, words of encouragement echoed from the distant mountain Alps.

‘Come on, get it together.’ I thought. I let go of the pillar and took one, two steps.

“H-he’s standing! The young master can stand!”

In addition to these voices in my head, my memories from a past life echoed back, particularly the merciless teasing of my older sister. It’s quite harsh in various ways.

My legs were trembling so much that it felt like my knees might buckle at any moment. I knew this would be tough, but it’s clearly in need of some serious rehab.

“Wow! Lord Lyon is walking with his own feet!”

“Yes, yes. I always believed this day would come!”

“That tiny Lyon has grown so splendidly!”

The people around me were making more of a fuss than I was, and exclamation marks of admiration were practically visible in the air. But then, I’m still quite small.

“Lord Lyon, congratulations!”

With just this tiny achievement, everyone applauded, and some people were so moved that tears welled up in their eyes.

I’m not sure what to say. Yeah, thanks a lot, everyone. You worked hard. Even though it was your job, you took care of a child who seemed like they might die at any moment with patience and dedication.

I’m truly grateful.

On the day when he Sakura Rio, now known as Lyon in this world, stood up on his own two feet, he made the resolution to live in this world.

Just kidding. I’ve long since let go of all that.

The nannies are nervously hovering, worried that I might collapse. They’re in a posture that seems ready to tackle me at any moment.

Huh? Were they just too worried to rest and didn’t want to miss this precious moment? I mean, it’s kind of embarrassing but also heartwarming.

I didn’t want to cause any more unnecessary worries, so I quickly returned to the bed and decided to contemplate my future course of action while doing some exercises.

Things I do every day:

Practice magic

Cultivate a healthy body (regular lifestyle, nutrition, light physical activity)

Combining theory and practice:

Age-appropriate education (including noble knowledge)

Confirm general common sense

Acquire essential knowledge for living

When the opportunity arises:

Confirm unknown abilities

Create a clone if possible

Interact with family?

As an extra but very important point:

Hide the fact that I’m a reincarnator

I’ve just listed them briefly, but there are so many things to do. Hiding the fact that I’m a reincarnator is, of course, for my own safety.

I can’t ask questions carelessly, and the role of reincarnators in this world is still unknown. It’s necessary to be cautious of my former classmates who were reincarnated before me.

Yes, now that I think about it, it was a rather complicated relationship.

Avoid causing any disturbances as much as possible.

That was my guiding principle from my past life. To go along with the flow, even if I didn’t agree deep down, and to pretend to conform.

I wasn’t smart about it, and I was often seen as indecisive and a pushover, and I tended to be manipulated by my classmates.

Before exams, my notes that I lent out wouldn’t come back until they had been copied. I don’t remember when that became the norm.

I often got stuck with odd jobs like being the class representative, or I was made to do the early morning or after-school duties all alone. And sometimes, when no one would show up for group shopping, I would end up going alone. There was a time when I felt overwhelmed and couldn’t handle it anymore.

Huh? Why does it feel like I have salty liquid in my eyes now? I’m getting teary-eyed more easily than I did before I was reincarnated.

I hated being forced to buy stuff at the school store when I was hungry. So, as a form of protest, I started making my own bento (boxed lunch) and brought it with me. I expected them to say they didn’t want it, especially because it was a guy making his own bento. But for some reason, they were happy with it and I ended up making it again and again.

Yeah, I was pretty dumb. Tears are falling. I’m like a pushover or their mom or something.

But strangely enough, back then, I did all of that without complaining. Just because they were my friends. That was the only reason.

They were skilled with their words, adept at manipulating people. Forceful, self-centered, and making unreasonable demands, but by using peer pressure, they often got their way.

These cruel classmates of mine enjoyed themselves in the closed environment of school. But if you became unnecessary, they would turn their backs on you without a second thought.

It was all just a play. Superficial human relationships that you could discard at any moment. It wasn’t them, the selfish ones, who gave up, but me, who couldn’t fight back. In fact, I even laughed along with them, even though it wasn’t enjoyable.

I knew they weren’t real friends in the truest sense.

But you know, I needed a place at school. I didn’t want to be ostracized. I wanted to be with someone. I wanted to escape from that unbearable, awkward atmosphere, like I was a foreigner.

So, I got used to compromising.

I’m aware that I was a weakling. Even though the school was like a demon’s den, I think there was a way to handle it better if it depended on me. But well, it’s too late for that now.

Since I was reborn, I won’t carry over the debts of the past. I’ll cut ties cleanly. However, even if that’s my intention, when I actually come into contact with them, there’s a high possibility that I’ll suffer real harm.

After all, this is a world where magic and abilities exist.

Just like I have Ai, they also have privileges from their reincarnation. If they use them skillfully, they should have a significant advantage. After all, they can use their abilities right from birth, unlike me.

They hated inefficiency. They were very efficient. I’m sure they grew a lot during the years I was struggling with pain.

The four of them, Kinesaka, Yanagi, Osakabe, and Mikoshiba, got the early bloomer class. They have ◯ or more in both abilities and skills and received skill manual as a bonus. They sould have a significant head start.

As for Sakon and Inui, they got the progressive form class. They have ◯ or △, and their bonus is an advanced skill manual. I wonder how much they’ve grown.

When it came to Tatsumi, I lost consciousness before confirming the gate’s information. So, I have no idea what to expect from him.

Carelessly imitating the culture of my past life or reacting excessively when hearing or seeing things would expose me as a reincarnator, and the risk of discovery is extremely high.

To gauge the danger level of the other reincarnators, I need to know more about their class.

I have to be careful with my knowledge cheat so that people don’t notice my existence.

Information gathering and filtering are essential.

I need to research general common sense and confirm knowledge and skills that I shouldn’t have openly reveal to the massess. This is crucial.

I don’t need the constraints from my past life.

Fortunately, I was born into a family with social status and assets, so I don’t need to work hard for a living, and I should have plenty of opportunities for education.

I’ll train myself and actively learn. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do for the time being.